Ablaq is a term used to characterize fluctuating rows of light and dark color courses of any medium.[1] It has been used since the twelfth century in masonry techniques.
Technique
Records show that the origin of the ablaq decorative technique may have derived from the ancient Byzantine Empire use of alternate sequential runs of masonry courses of light colored ashlar stone and darker colored baked orange brick or black stone. [2]
The first known use of ablaq in building techniques is in masonry work that is recorded in the reconstruction improvements to the walls of the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. These reconstruction improvements to the north wall began in the twelfth century.[2]
In the south part of Syria there is abundance of black basalt as well as white sedimentary rock. The supplies of each are about equal, so it was natural that masonry techniques of balanced proportions were used, such as alternate rows of light and dark masonry. Records trace the beginnings of this type of masonry technique to the south parts of Syria.[2]
It is said this is an example of Chiaroscuro.
History
In 1266 - 1269 Sultan al-Zahir Baybars al-Bunduqdari built a mosque known as Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars or the Qasr Ablaq Palace which was constructed with alterations of light and dark masonry. Based on this mosque the ablaq term, as a masonry technique of alternate rows of light and dark, was fully being used in the thirteenth century. [2]
The Mamluk architecture of Syria and Egypt as well as Palestine adopted the ablaq technique in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In these countries at about this time black and white stone were often used as well as red brick in recurring rows, giving a three colored striped building. [2]
The ablaq masonry technique is used in the Azm Palace in Damascus and other buildings of the Ottoman period. In fact, Dr.Andrew Petersen, Director of Research in Islamic Archaeology at the University of Wales Lampeter states that ablaq (alernating courses of white limestone and black basalt is “A characteristic of the monumental masonry of Damascus.”[3]
Footnotes
- ^ Aga Khan program for Islamic architecture
- ^ a b c d e "Ablaq". Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Digital Library. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
- ^ Petersen, Andrew (October 3, 2011). "Damascus – history, arts and architecture". Islamic Arts & Architecture. Retrieved Janaury 28, 2012.
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References
- Petersen, Andrew (March 14, 2007). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture (Reprint edition ed.). p. 2. ISBN 0415213320. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
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External links
